In the Company of Fools
by Abarero
Summary: A collection of short stories focused on the friendship of the Strawhat Pirates. First story up: The Best Cure for Homesickness, Usopp-Chopper.


**Title: **The Best Cure for Homesickness  
**Fandom:** One Piece  
**Genre:** General/Friendship  
**Rating:** G  
**Main Characters:** Usopp, Chopper  
**Summary:** Usopp helps Chopper overcome his homesickness.  
**Notes:** Written for **prpl_pen**

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They'd woken up that morning to snow piled high on the deck and a general sense of merriment in the air. Everyone had rushed outside, either willingly or having been dragged by their overenthusiastic captain, and a snowball fight had been started up.

After a particularly large snowball hit him in the face, Usopp wiped it off and looked up for his next target. Loading up his slingshot for another shot at the opposing team, he paused on realizing that someone was missing from the fun.

"Oi, where's Chopper?" He asked, turning to Robin as she casually used her devil fruit powers to throw multiple snowballs at once.

She glanced around the deck-turned-snow-battlefield. "I'm not certain I saw him come out. Perhaps he's still sleeping in?"

Frowning as another reason for Chopper's absence flickered into his mind; Usopp lobbed another snowball at the ragtag team and then raced for the upper deck.

_I didn't see him in the bunk this morning, so I guess he's here._ He thought to himself, looking at the infirmary door. _He might want to be left alone, but..._

Not wanting to leave his friend feeling down if he was indeed in a melancholy mood, Usopp sat his kabuto to the side of the door and pushed it open. As he quietly entered, he wasn't surprised to see their ship's doctor seated at his chair with his nose buried in a medical book.

"Chopper?"

He glanced up. "Ah, Usopp! Did you need something?"

Closing the door behind himself and stepping into the room, Usopp walked over to the reindeer.

"Just wondering why you weren't outside with the others, that's all."

"O-oh. No reason," a tiny voice answered.

"Chopper…" Usopp said, placing a hand on the doctor's shoulder, "You're homesick, aren't you?"

He flinched away. "No, not at all! I'm not sad! I'm not missing anyone! I'm not home-"

The reindeer trailed off as he felt the warm tears running down his face. Usopp turned the swivel chair around and wrapped his arms around the little deer.

"Hey, it's okay. We all get this way sometimes, even Zoro."

Chopper sniffled and clutched Usopp's overalls. "R-Really?"

Usopp nodded, then realizing that from his position Chopper really couldn't see him nod, he spoke up. "Oh of course," he intoned, hoping that the lie would hold, "Sometimes he just breaks down over that heirloom sword of his. I've sworn to him I'd never tell a soul, but given your situation I'm sure he'd understand. But yes, even he has felt the pangs of being so far from the town where he grew up, so don't feel bad about it at all."

Looking up at his friend, Chopper mustered a smile through his tears. "Thanks, Usopp."

Ruffling the fur on his head, Usopp smiled in return. "No problem. Now don't you want to join in the snowball battle? Franky's made a snowball canon launcher and I think our side could use some reinforcements."

"Okay!" The reindeer said, jumping down from his chair. Shifting into Heavy Point, he flexed his humanoid form's muscles. "I'm ready!"

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As Nami had predicted, the clouds they were currently sailing under would keep producing snow every night when the temperatures fell low enough. So each morning, the crew woke up to fresh snow on the deck. Still exhausted from the previous day's massive snow battle, the second day they'd taken to making sculptures in the snow while Sanji made hot cocoa for everyone.

But this time it wasn't Chopper who was missing from the fun.

Robin had excused herself from the deck and gone down below to see if she could figure out what their sniper and shipwright were up to. As she expected, the two were huddled over a blueprint in Usopp's factory.

"Should I be warning the others that a Battle Franky Snowman is in the works?" She queried.

Franky gave her a sheepish grin, but it was Usopp who spoke up.

"Robin, can you keep a secret?"

Looking a bit surprised at his question, she nodded. "Of course."

Gesturing her over to his cramped desk, Usopp pointed to the blueprint. "I'm having Franky help me with the mechanics of this."

Robin glanced down at the blueprint and a smile tugged at her lips. She knew right away what Usopp was up to.

"It's for Chopper, isn't it?"

Usopp nodded, pointing to the center of the diagram. "The music box part I made out of a sound dial and I already had Brook record something special for it. But this, I couldn't figure out how to get it to rotate when it's wound."

"That's where I come in," Franky added.

"Then I'll leave you two to your work and see if I can get Nami to help me find some wrapping paper."

When Usopp had finally emerged later that day, it was amid sculptures of shapely snowwomen, courtesy of Brooke and Sanji, a snow-swordsman that Luffy had coerced Zoro into sculpting, a lumpy blob that Luffy insisted was a monster snow sea king, the predicted Battle Franky snowman (which Franky had added to the group when he appeared on the deck midday), and a few normal snow animals by Robin and Nami.

On the far corner of the deck, Usopp found Chopper looking a bit forlorn next to a sculpture of a Lapahn. Smiling at seeing the somehow docile looking snow variant of Drum Island's killer bunnies, the sniper tapped the doctor on the shoulder.

"Ah! Usopp!" He started, turning around to face him.

"Here, I thought you might like this."

Tentatively, Chopper took the nicely wrapped package from Usopp's hands. Looking quizzically to him and then to the gathering crew, he blinked.

"F-For me?"

"Go on," Robin encouraged from behind him.

Slowly unwrapping the package, Chopper gasped as he saw what lay inside.

It was an ornate snow globe, with a hand carved wooden base and a large glass orb filled with faux snow. But it was what was inside the globe that brought tears to the reindeer's eyes.

It was a sakura tree.

"Wind it up," Usopp said softly.

Fumbling a bit with the knob, he finally managed to turn it. Brook's singing voice issued from it as the sakura tree began to turn slowly, the snow falling down around it.

_Ei lapsi pohjolan milloinkaan, voi joulua unhoittaa, se keskellä talveen jään, suo suloista lämpöään. Hän vaikka vierailla mailla lie, niin aina pohjolaan aatos vie._

"You asshole!" Chopper exclaimed, tears streaming down his face now as he wiggled about in joy, "This doesn't make me happy at all!"

The crew smiled at one another, used to their doctor's odd way of giving thanks.

"I hope I did the Drum Island carol proper justice," Brook said.

"It's horrible!" The reindeer replied, grinning in happiness.

"But it was all Usopp's idea," Robin said, pushing the little deer towards the sniper.

Sitting the globe down carefully, Chopper marched right over to Usopp and flung his arms around his knees in a hug. "You jerk! I am not thanking you for this!"

Patting his head, Usopp smiled. "You're welcome, Chopper."

And as the carol finished playing and the snow settled at the base of the miniature sakura tree, Chopper knew that as much as he missed his home on Drum Island, he was just as happy here with his family on the Thousand Sunny.

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A/N: The "Drum Island Carol" is actually the song "White Christmas" in Finnish. :D


End file.
